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Fakhar Zaman Leads Pakistan to 5-Wicket Win Over New Zealand in 1st ODI

image-lgzh2xzbFakhar Zaman | Source: Twitter 

New Zealand - 288/7 in 50 Overs [Daryl Mitchell 113 (115), Will Young 86 (78); Naseem Shah 2/29 (10), Haris Rauf 2/65 (10)] beat Pakistan - 291/5 in 48.3 Overs [Fakhar Zaman 117 (114), Imam-Ul-Haq 60 (65); Adam Milne 2/60 (9), Blair Tickner 1/52 (9)] by 5 wickets.

Pakistan, riding on the back of Fakhar Zaman's century knock, overpowered New Zealand in the first ODI match of the series, winning by five wickets and taking an early lead in the five-match series on Thursday, April 27 at Rawalpindi Stadium.

Pakistan started their chase of 289 with a bang as Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq put on a brilliant 124-run partnership for the opening wicket. Although Imam was dismissed for 60 off 65 by Rachin Ravindra, Fakhar continued to keep the momentum going.

Fakhar Zaman then teamed up with captain Babar Azam and together they put on a 90-run partnership for the second wicket, with Babar contributing 49 runs off 46 balls while Fakhar finished with 117 runs from 114 balls. 

Mohammad Rizwan tonked the winning runs for Pakistan, scoring 43 runs off 34 balls. New Zealand's bowlers put up a fight, with Adam Milne taking two wickets and Blair Tickner, Ish Sodhi and Rachin Ravindra each taking one wicket. 

Daryl Mitchell powers New Zealand to big total

After being asked to bat first, New Zealand put up a total of 288 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their allocated 50 overs. Daryl Mitchell's century was the highlight of the innings, and Will Young's quick start set the tone for the rest of the batting order.

Young provided the Black Caps with a dream start to their innings, scoring 86 runs off 78 balls, while his opening partner Chad Bowes was not as successful with the bat, scoring just 18 runs from 26 deliveries. 

After the early dismissal of Bowes, Will Young and Daryl Mitchell joined forces to put together a crucial 102-run partnership for the second wicket before the former perished off Shadab Khan’s bowling. 

Despite losing his partner, Daryl Mitchell kept the momentum going and forged a solid 72-run partnership with Tom Latham. While Mitchell went on to score a brilliant 113 off 115 balls, Latham contributed 20 runs off 36 balls.

The likes of Henry Nicholls, Mark Chapman, and Rachin Ravinder also played useful cameos that helped to bolster the visitor’s total score. While Chapman scored 15 runs off 14 deliveries, Nicholls remained unbeaten for 20 runs off 21 balls. 

For Pakistan, their pacers put up a solid effort, with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf all taking two wickets each.Of the three, Naseem Shah was the most economical, conceding runs at an impressive rate of less than three runs per overs. Shadab Khan also got in on the action with a wicket of his own.